Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

June 18-24, 2011

Welcome

Dear Colleagues,

Only a month from now (20 May) the 1st Borneo Carnivore Symposium: Road Towards Conservation Action Plans will be held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia from the 18th to 24th of June 2011. We are pleased to inform you that the organisation and preparations are going well and that we are getting more and more excited of this important event coming up.

Recognizing the degree of threat and lack of information for Bornean carnivores, the 1st Borneo Carnivore Symposium was initiated with the intention to synthesize and discuss our current state of knowledge on the status and conservation needs of this important group of Bornean mammals. The event will bring together representatives from the scientific, political and business communities to devise conservation strategies that are efficient, feasible and accepted by the society. Thus, we expect the symposium to provide the foundation from which feasible regional action strategies and plans will be developed to enhance the conservation of carnivores throughout the island.

The success of this symposium depends on the involvement of members of the three invited parties, as well as on the information that can be synthesized prior to the symposium. Along both lines, we can report success. Interest in the symposium has been strong as by today over 100 participants from more than 15 countries have registered for the symposium. Although we are now entering the final stages of preparations and the registration deadline was May 15 we decided to allow for late registrations until June 10. However as we have limited space for a maximum of 130 participants, thus we engourage all of you who are still interested to attend the symposium to register as soon as possible.

We are also pleased additional organisations decided to support our efforts for Bornean carnivores. In addition to the sponsors announced in our previous update (in alphabetical order): British Ecological Society; Chester Zoo /NESZ; Clouded Leopard Project; Houston Zoo; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research; Mississippi State University - College of Forest Resources; Nashville Zoo; Shangri-la's Rasa Ria Resort; Shared Earth Fund; UsitawiNetwork; Wild Cat Club; WWF-Germany, we would like to thank our new sponsors Columbus Zoo, KTS Plantation SDN BHD, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, WWF-Malaysia KTS Plantation SDN BHD, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, WWF-Malaysia for their generous support. We encourage you to visit our Sponsors page for an up-to-date list of the generous organizations who have joined our cause.

We look forward to seeing you in the beautiful capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, the gateway to Bornean carnivore discoveries.